Influence of Herbicide Site Preparation on Longleaf Pine Ecosystem Development and Fire Management

Addington, Robert N.; Greene, Thomas A.; Elmore, Michele L.; Prior, Catherine E.; Harrison, Wade C.

doi:10.5849/sjaf.11-012

Cited by 15 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Herbicides have been reported to be an effective technique to rapidly change vegetation structure by reducing woody stem density and improving opportunities for fire management during longleaf pine restoration (e.g. Welch et al 2004;Freeman & Jose 2009;Haywood 2009;Jose et al 2010;Addington et al 2012). Similar to previous studies, treatments that included herbicides in our study (H and H+F) significantly reduced the cover of woody plants in the ground layer without affecting the total cover of herbaceous plants, resulting in the observed increase in the relative abundance of herbaceous vegetation with herbicide use.…”

Section: Effects Of Cultural Treatments On Sub-canopy Vegetationsupporting

confidence: 84%

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Silvicultural treatments for converting loblolly pine to longleaf pine dominance: effects on ground layer and midstorey vegetation

Knapp

Wang

Walker

2016

Applied Vegetation Science

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Questions How do management practices used to enhance longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) seedling survival and growth under a loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) canopy alter the structure of midstorey and ground layer vegetation? Do management treatments achieve general restoration targets for longleaf pine ecosystem structure? Location Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, NC, USA within the Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain Ecoregion. Methods Four levels of timber harvest were applied to loblolly pine stands: Control (uncut, basal area ~16.2 m2·ha−1), MedBA (residual basal area ~9.0 m2·ha−1), LowBA (residual basal area ~6.4 m2·ha−1) and Clearcut (residual basal area of 0 m2·ha−1). Within each canopy treatment, we applied three cultural treatments selected to facilitate longleaf pine seedling success: NT (untreated), H (chemical control of woody vegetation) and H + F (chemical control plus fertilization). Vegetation responses, including the abundance (cover) of ground layer vegetation and midstorey stem densities, were reported for three growing seasons (2008–2010) following canopy removal. Results The ground layer was dominated by woody vegetation, and total vegetation cover generally increased with increasing canopy removal. Canopy treatment effects varied through time. Clearcut plots had higher total herbaceous and graminoid cover than MedBA and Control plots in 2008, while woody cover was significantly lower on Control plots than on LowBA and Clearcut plots in 2009. Clearcut plots had higher densities of loblolly pines than Control plots in 2009 and 2010. The herbicide treatment reduced hardwood densities, but increased loblolly pine densities, especially in 2010. Conclusions Successful restoration prescriptions are often site‐specific because of different land‐use history, climate, site characteristics and starting conditions. To achieve the restoration objective of creating an open midstorey with an herbaceous‐dominated ground layer when converting loblolly pine stands to longleaf pine dominance on relatively productive sites with abundant hardwoods and aggressive loblolly pine natural regeneration, canopy retention can slow the rate of development of loblolly pine regeneration and herbicides reduce hardwood stem densities. Frequent, repeated burning would likely be required to further reduce woody vegetation and increase the relative abundance of herbaceous vegetation.

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Section: Effects Of Cultural Treatments On Sub-canopy Vegetationsupporting

confidence: 84%

“…; Addington et al. ). Similar to previous studies, treatments that included herbicides in our study (H and H+F) significantly reduced the cover of woody plants in the ground layer without affecting the total cover of herbaceous plants, resulting in the observed increase in the relative abundance of herbaceous vegetation with herbicide use.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Silvicultural treatments for converting loblolly pine to longleaf pine dominance: effects on ground layer and midstorey vegetation

Knapp

Wang

Walker

2016

Applied Vegetation Science

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“…, Addington et al. ), and in turn, species richness declined. Because fire reduces aboveground competition for light by ground cover species, and species richness is not reduced with increasing standing crop except as a result of fire exclusion, fire is clearly shown to be the filter eliminating competitive exclusion as a strong structuring influence on patterns of species richness.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Productivity and species richness in longleaf pine woodlands: resource‐disturbance influences across an edaphic gradient

Kirkman

Giencke

Taylor

et al. 2016

Ecology

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This study examines the complex feedback mechanisms that regulate a positive relationship between species richness and productivity in a longleaf pine-wiregrass woodland. Across a natural soil moisture gradient spanning wet-mesic to xeric conditions, two large scale manipulations over a 10-yr period were used to determine how limiting resources and fire regulate plant species diversity and productivity at multiple scales. A fully factorial experiment was used to examine productivity and species richness responses to N and water additions. A separate experiment examined standing crop and richness responses to N addition in the presence and absence of fire. Specifically, these manipulations addressed the following questions: (1) How do N and water addition influence annual aboveground net primary productivity of the midstory/overstory and ground cover? (2) How do species richness responses to resource manipulations vary with scale and among functional groups of ground cover species? (3) How does standing crop (including overstory, understory/midstory, and ground cover components) differ between frequently burned and fire excluded plots after a decade without fire? (4) What is the role of fire in regulating species richness responses to N addition? This long-term study across a soil moisture gradient provides empirical evidence that species richness and productivity in longleaf pine woodlands are strongly regulated by soil moisture. After a decade of treatment, there was an overall species richness decline with N addition, an increase in richness of some functional groups with irrigation, and a substantial decline in species richness with fire exclusion. Changes in species richness in response to treatments were scale-dependent, occurring primarily at small scales (≤10 m ). Further, with fire exclusion, standing crop of ground cover decreased with N addition and non-pine understory/midstory increased in wet-mesic sites. Non-pine understory/midstory standing crop increased in xeric sites with fire exclusion, but there was no influence of N addition. This study highlights the complexity of interactions among multiple limiting resources, frequent fire, and characteristics of dominant functional groups that link species richness and productivity.

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“…While it was not tested here, periodic treatment with herbicides is very likely to help with prolonging the dominance of loblolly–shortleaf pine forest in some areas by excluding competing hardwood vegetation and promoting herbaceous plants (Addington et al. ). The conversion of loblolly–shortleaf pine to longleaf pine forest is necessary where minimal overstory longleaf pine trees currently exist.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The prevalence of shrubs and hardwood trees in the midstory of loblolly-shortleaf pine forest contrasts strongly with that of natural longleaf pine forest. The dominance of resilient, resprouting shrub and hardwood tree species in these strata can transform fuel beds from pine-dominated to those dominated by firesuppressive fuels of broadleaf plants (e.g., sweetgum leaves and twigs; Addington et al 2012). Higher hardwood tree and shrub cover can lead to a positive feedback cycle of lower fire severities, higher hardwood tree and shrub survival, continued growth and proliferation of tree and shrub stems, and continued suppression of fire effects (Thaxton and Platt 2006, Loudermilk et al 2011, Kreye et al 2013.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Frequently burned loblolly–shortleaf pine forest in the southeastern United States lacks the stability of longleaf pine forest

Matusick

Hudson²,

Garrett³

et al. 2020

Ecosphere

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In recent decades, conservation objectives have driven changes to the management of some pine forests in the southeastern United States. Forest thinning and frequent burning of old‐field and plantation pine forests have resulted in an open loblolly–shortleaf pine forest community which resembles the original longleaf pine forest. It is, however, unclear how the structure, composition, and function of the loblolly–shortleaf forest compare to natural longleaf pine forest, and whether it represents an alternative stable state, or simply a transitional state. Understanding the stability of open loblolly–shortleaf pine forest is critical, particularly because several threatened and endangered species are now reliant on it for habitat. The structure and composition of loblolly–shortleaf forest and natural longleaf pine forest were compared using data from permanent forest plots at Fort Benning, Georgia, USA. To assess the stability of the loblolly–shortleaf pine forest and determine whether it is an alternative stable or transitional state, the LANDIS‐II forest landscape simulation model was used to simulate changes in forest type cover under no disturbance, and a frequent‐fire regime at Fort Benning. Under both management scenarios, nearly all loblolly–shortleaf pine forest converted to mixed hardwood forest over the course of the simulation, with most conversion occurring within 60 yr. In contrast, longleaf pine forest cover increased under frequent fire. Several important structural and compositional differences may have contributed to the instability of loblolly–shortleaf pine forest compared to longleaf pine forest. These include, among other factors, higher densities of resprouting hardwood trees and shrubs in loblolly–shortleaf pine forest, including sweetgum, a resilient broadleaf species capable of transforming ecosystem structure. These results highlight the instability of the open loblolly–shortleaf pine forest community and confirm that is a transitional state, destined for mixed hardwood forest in the coming decades under either no disturbance or frequent fire alone. Future forest planning should consider an active transition from the loblolly–shortleaf pine forest in the coming decades if open pine forest is to be conserved for wildlife and conservation objectives.

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Influence of Herbicide Site Preparation on Longleaf Pine Ecosystem Development and Fire Management

Cited by 15 publications

References 25 publications

Silvicultural treatments for converting loblolly pine to longleaf pine dominance: effects on ground layer and midstorey vegetation

Silvicultural treatments for converting loblolly pine to longleaf pine dominance: effects on ground layer and midstorey vegetation

Productivity and species richness in longleaf pine woodlands: resource‐disturbance influences across an edaphic gradient

Frequently burned loblolly–shortleaf pine forest in the southeastern United States lacks the stability of longleaf pine forest

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